FOOD: End-of-Summer Ice Cream Countdown: Days 11-7

The city just keeps proving over and over to be full of talented ice cream artisans, with so many different perspectives on how to serve the frozen favorite, what atmosphere to provide, and even a vegan ice cream so good the carnivores would scream for it. Read below for more…

I like very much that, despite the arrival of warmer temps, Van Leeuwen still keeps their cozier flavors like Cinnamon, and Earl Grey. Trying both, I went with the latter (Cinnamon tastes more like the Red Hots variety, by the way), and it was just as nice in the late August air as it would be on a chilly September evening. True to its title, VL’s Earl Grey does taste like the tea, full, roasted flavor with a hint of brightness from the bergamot citrus that gives it its characteristic flavor.

Time-travelling in the heart of Brooklyn! Order a dazzling Pink Poodle soda float from a smartly-dressed man in a paper hat, gaze upon the many couples with their classic sundaes at the bar, and try not to get too lost in your sudden time-warp to notice how simply delicious their homemade vanilla ice cream tastes with the punch-sweet hibiscus syrup-and-soda (from Brooklyn-made P&H Soda).

After 3 separate attempts, finally, a taste of Sundaes and Cones’ sweet corn ice cream! The secret must be out that this shop is the best place to try it, and it’s well worth a trip if you’ve yet to see what the fuss is over this flavor. At Sundaes and Cones they get the recipe just right – a good amount of corn flavor, without veering into savory, what-am-I-eating mouth confusion. The ice cream is dotted with fresh corn kernels, in case you need to see them to believe it.

The logic behind The Mermaid is so great; according to one employee (paraphrasing here), “It’s like in the Florida Keys, they have key limes, and key lime pies, and they have mermaids, too.” Of course. It actually makes perfect sense. Not that it has to: with all that whipped cream and key lime curd and vanilla soft serve, concentration becomes unimaginable.

Gluten-free kids and vegans, rejoice: you can have your ice cream and ice cream sandwiches and actually eat them, too, without guilt or pain! A certain former East Village vegan ice cream maker has taken up a small space at the cute Sustainable NYC shop a few blocks down, where the too-good-to-be-vegan ice cream get served on it’s own, as well as smushed between 2 too-good-to-be-gluten-free cookies from “Cookies by Debbie.” The Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream with Peanut Butter cookies was shockingly good and huge – perfect for sharing or stashing away in the freezer for later moments of weakness and temptation.

With the final week of the countdown ahead, there are still dozens of shops, hundreds of flavors and at least one borough to get to before September comes…